Chapter 5 - Unraveling the Empire
While the family court battles raged on, the silent war inside Hail Development was proving even more devastating for Richard.
Evelyn invited me to her private office at the top of the Hail Tower on a crisp January afternoon. The panoramic views of the city skyline looked magnificent, but inside the room, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Two forensic accountants sat across from Evelyn's massive mahogany desk, surrounded by stacks of financial ledgers and digital printouts.
“Tell her what you found, Arthur,” Evelyn instructed without looking up from her tablet.
Arthur, a senior auditor with decades of experience, adjusted his glasses and looked directly at me. “Mrs. Hail, during our preliminary review of the last three fiscal years, we uncovered a consistent pattern of unauthorized capital diversion orchestrated by your husband.”
I blinked. “Diversion?”
“Embezzlement, creative accounting, and shell companies,” Arthur clarified bluntly. “Mr. Hail has been systematically siphoning company funds to maintain private offshore accounts and fund high-risk personal investments without board approval. Furthermore, he used corporate funds to pay off personal liabilities—including the unauthorized monthly stipends to your parents.”
My breath caught in my throat. Every dollar my parents had demanded, every penny they had held over my head as proof of my family's financial stability, had essentially been stolen corporate capital funneled through Richard's fraudulent schemes.
“Can he be prosecuted?” I asked quietly.
“ criminally and civilly,” Evelyn said, her eyes flashing with a fierce, cold resolve. “Richard built his entire identity on the illusion that he was the undisputed king of this enterprise. He assumed his name on the door protected him from accountability. He forgot who built the foundation.”
“What about Mark?” I asked, thinking of my brother.
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“Mark’s position as a senior project manager was entirely bogus,” Arthur answered smoothly. “He passed no performance reviews, managed no teams, and collected a six-figure salary for doing virtually nothing. His employment contract has already been terminated for cause.”
The dominoes were falling precisely where they belonged.
